Is anybody using the Centurion buck and ball 12ga load. Holy penetration!

Is anybody using the Centurion buck and ball 12ga load. Holy penetration!

This is a discussion on Is anybody using the Centurion buck and ball 12ga load. Holy penetration! within the Defensive Ammunition & Ballistics forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; We were doing some wet newspaper testing in the shop range the other day and somebody pulled a box of this off of the shelf. ...

Is anybody using the Centurion buck and ball 12ga load. Holy penetration!

We were doing some wet newspaper testing in the shop range the other day and somebody pulled a box of this off of the shelf. Its a big round ball surrounded by a couple buckshot pellets for those that don't know. Our typical set up is a 5 gallon paint bucket stuffed with newspaper. We soak it till it gets fully saturated and shoot into it. One bucket will stop almost anything handgun and for stuff that might go too deep, we stack a second bucket.

It was a good thing we stacked a second bucket. At about 15 feet the buckshot was all over the place but the ball hit dead center, blew through the bucket, blew through the second bucket, exited the bottom and struck a piece of wood. holding the bucket and rolled down range. It was completely undamaged and is now in the center of a monkey fist "keychain" I made out of 550 paracord. This thing penetrated more than the Federal Tru Ball slugs I usually carry, morr than Brenneke, more than a heavy .44mag Gold Dot, more than any FMJ rifle round I can remember trying. If I were to use this in my house, I figure even with a solid hit it would end up in the trunk of my neighbors car, in his garage, on the other side of his house, after passing longways through a tree or two...

I am not a real fan of mixed loads, either mixing rounds of different types in a magazine or cylinder, or mixing buck and slug in the same shell. The only buck I found had deformed plenty, but obviously from hitting the floor first. I don't see the point in this
particular version.

Yes, I know newsprint isn't scientific but hey, shooting other peoples ammo is always fun. I learned quite a few things from shooting that day (the old and much maligned Hydra Shok was the most consistant performer in 9and .45 from carbines and pistols for one). I was testing loads for my new CCW Hi Power and I believe I'll stick with a 115gr Gold Dot, and I think my slugs will remain Federal. The Gold Dot because I just have more of t in stock and it expanded fine, the slug because it's accurate and penetrates a sensible amount. I might change the Gold Dots out later, but I don't plan on using the Centurion for any SD or HD uses anytime soon.

I have nine 12 gauge Centurions stuffed in my Mossberg 590.....this is some of the most powerful stuff I have ever used....it is right up there with my old 1 inch flechet loads of the '70s....great penetration combined with horrible wound channels in "thawd frying hens" at 15 yards...has to be a surgeon's nightmare.

I'm confused...did you have the paint buckets oriented standing on their bottoms side to side or laid on the side bottoms touching?
Also what kind of paint buckets are these; Metal or plastic, and what size capacity in gallons?

It was plain old 5 gallon paint buckets made of plastic. They were laying on their sides with the bottom of one in the top of the other for maximum distance of scientific ballistic testing medium. We have found using buckets to be a much cleaner and neater way to test using wet newspaper.

If you look at that video that Janq posted, you will see that the same fellows that made that video also tested Winchester's PDX-1 load that combines a 1 oz slug with 3 00 Buckshot.

It looks like this Italian made Centurion ammo can basically duplicate its performance. The Winchester load costs $13.79 for 10 shells, while the Centurion Buck and Ball costs $11.99 for 10, with both available at Midway USA.

The Winchester load has the 3 00 Buckshot in the front of the shell, with the 1 oz slug behind it. The Centurion load is just the opposite, with the .65 caliber lead ball at the front of the shell, with the 6 #1 Buckshot behind that.

Terminal effects seem to be pretty close, judging from the two videos.

The Truball slugs from Federal are known to be pretty soft. I got complete expansion with those, so penetration was less. These Centurion loads are a much harder alloy and a round ball rather than a traditional slug. The Centurion penetrated vastly more than any slug I've tested. No expansion plus hard alloy equalls deep penetration. I don't see the value of a few buckshot when this slug blows through completely, and then some. The most penetration I can remember in a slug was a Brenneke slug. Super hard alloy, but it had a flat wadcutter profile that slowed it down a little.